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October 13, 2011

Ortiz: "I Don't Know If I Want To Be Part Of This Drama Next Year"

There's too much drama, man. There's too much drama. I have been thinking about a lot of things. I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year. ... The owners need to take care of it right now so everybody can come in with a fresh mind next year and do what they're supposed to do.

Would Ortiz consider playing for the Yankees?

That's something I gotta think about. I've been here on the Red Sox a long time, and I've seen how everything goes down between these two ballclubs. [The Yankees organization is] great from what I hear. It's a good situation to be involved in. Who doesn't want to be involved in a great situation where everything goes the right way? They lost just like we did, they just went to the first round of the playoffs. I ain't heard nobody coming out killing everybody just because they lost.

Nice work, David. Create more drama by saying you hate all the drama. Jesus Christ. (Though when he says "everything goes the right way - they lost just like we did", is he even listening to himself?)

Maybe if there would have been less drama if Ortiz had stamped it out. Who else on the team could lay down the law, if he truly wanted to slap some sense into various players? As long as Ortiz is on the roster, the Red Sox are his team. And yet he checked out. By his own admission, he didn't care beyond punching his time card and working his shift. Two weeks ago, Ortiz admitted:

I am nobody to determine who was doing the right thing and who wasn't. I'm another player, I'm not a boss. I'm nobody's babysitter. We have rules and they need to be followed. This case, I did what I needed to complete the rules. If others weren't, it's the bosses job to let them know what's up.

During that interview, he also said, "Of course I want to be on the Red Sox."

Most of this seems like standard free agency posturing, but considering all that has happened since the end of the season, coupled with Ortiz's "no babysitter" comment, he's probably hurting his chances at a Red Sox contract with this crap.

But he can still hit. With OPS+s of 123, 101, 137, 154 over the last four years, I'd like him back for two more years at something like 2/25, which would be the same salary he made in 2011.

22 comments:

Maybe if there would have been less drama if Ortiz had stamped it out. Who else on the team could lay down the law, if he truly wanted to slap some sense into various players? ... By his own admission, he didn't care beyond punching his time card and working his shift.

It does not appear to be in Ortiz's personality or character to lead others. Leadership is something that is within, or not. One can learn how to be a better and more effective leader, but some people are leaders and some are not. And just because a man hits well, has a lot of friends, hugs people, is demonstrative and appealing in many ways, does not mean he is a leader.

I don't mean that as a negative, merely as a fact.

He's right - he's not a babysitter. If he were a leader, he might think, These men need me, my team needs me, I have to try to fix this. Instead, he sees it as a dirty job that he shouldn't be asked to do.

If we think of our own lives, I'm sure everyone can come up with parallels. Some people get involved, some don't.

There's no point blaming people for being themselves. It's like blaming Drew for not smiling or Ellsbury for (supposedly) keeping to himself.

It does not appear to be in Ortiz's personality or character to lead others.

He was absolutely a leader in 2007, giving a big speech after they lost Game 3 to Cleveland in the ALCS.

SI:"Listen," designated hitter David Ortiz began, "we're not just a good team. We're a great team. And don't you fucking forget that. And let's go play one at a time and go prove that. Because let me tell you something...."Ortiz pulled on the sides of his gray road jersey. "There's a reason why you wear this Red Sox uniform...."Ortiz paused for a beat, letting the suspenseful silence fill the rapt room."Because you're a bad motherfucker."

And he has said other things along the way that make me believe he is absolutely that kind of player. ... No "Ride or Die" in 2011, though.

I agree with Laura. I see nothing wrong with what Ortiz said---it's not his job to nag other players, though it is his job to set an example by his own behavior. It's one thing to give a pep speech in 2007 to a bunch of players who were probably also working hard to win. And I am sure when he feels comfortable, he will tell an individual player what he thinks, but I guess I don't see him being confrontational with the likes of Lackey or Beckett. Let's face it---Ortiz and Manny were good friends, but as far as we know, Papi never read the riot act to Manny either for any of his alleged antics.

Haha to the video. Good riddance Ortiz, our roster needs a complete overhaul, and you sir just need to go. Colin Cowherd made some good points that past few days. Quote in a ways, "Joe Torre won all those titles because he got young, hungry athletes who hadn't won it all i.e. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada. How many titles have the Yankees, Phillies, and Red Sox won in the past 10 years? 1,1,2 I believe. All of those rosters are littered by rich, not hungry athletes who have won it all." Rebuilding time should start now. I'd rather suck for the next few seasons in order to build ourselves up with hungry guys, then collapse into third again.

I'd rather suck for the next few seasons in order to build ourselves up with hungry guys, then collapse into third again.

A couple of stories in the Globe - with a very low ratio of actual fact, and sourced quotes, to rumor and spin - and people are ready to blow up the team! I'm sorry, but I think this is just nuts. And evidently it's too much to ask that the Boston sports media do some real analysis about what the problems were, and how they can be fixed - instead, we're up to our necks in soap opera and unattributed quotes. I hate this offseason.

A Seawolves Fanatic said... I'd rather suck for the next few seasons in order to build ourselves up with hungry guys, then collapse into third again.

WHAT? On my count we have 12 guys on the roster who have won rings , out of 40 .Now you are saying get rid of those guys bring a bunch of guys who have never won a ring, and straight out guts and drive will make us great again.At the same time we might as well have the uneducated teach our children and operate on our parents. It's a great idea. No really, FANTASTIC!!

Not so much, Montero will most likely be traded. And A-rod should be healthy enough to play third. Swisher and Posada will be gone. So who knows.

I'm betting that you'll be wrong on at least one of swisher/montero. And I'm not sure how you can say with any confidence A-rod will be healthy. He hasn't the last two seasons, and he's not getting younger. No reason to think he's suddenly going to be healthy going forward. I can't think of many players more clearly breaking down before our eyes.

"He's 36 years old, and he played a lot of innings at shortstop, and his body's beat up, and there's no compelling reason to believe he can ever play 150 games in a season, much less be a dominant player. And he has SIX YEARS left on that deal. The thing about sports it that when a player starts regressing, the way A-Rod did two or three years ago, people quickly adjust to the new reality. OK, so A-Rod is not a 40 or 50 home run guy anymore, he's more like a 30-homer guy. But that's not how regression works. It doesn't stop at the level of choice. It just keeps on, you know, regressing."